Blackbird Interactive is a creative-fueled, future-driven, independent game studio where the best talent in the industry can find long-term careers to help grow their abilities while working on a wide range of projects, which encompass world-class IPs as well as our own creations across multiple genres.

Our studio operates as a remote-first workplace, offering flexible work arrangements.

We are looking for a Lead Software Engineer to drive the technical direction and execution of a current original game being developed in Unreal Engine 5 . You will bootstrap the project and then lead engineering efforts across core gameplay systems, AI, platforms support, build and delivery pipelines that are essential to delivering a polished, performant and fun experience. This role is remote-friendly in Canada with Pacific-time overlap required.

What You’ll Lead and Deliver :

- Be the first engineer on the project - establish pipelines and workflows for engineering and art, pick which technologies to use and help guide artists and designers to achieve project goals.
- Lead the technical direction and implementation of core gameplay and runtime systems in the engine.
- Partner closely with design and content teams to build high quality and fun experiences.
- Drive engineering quality across gameplay code, emphasizing performance, maintainability, extensibility, and production-readiness.
- Establish engineering best practices for Unreal Engine 5 development, including code review standards, debugging workflows, profiling habits, and technical planning.
- Collaborate with technical leadership to break down risks, define implementation strategies,



and align engineering execution with project goals and production timelines.
- Mentor engineers through design reviews, hands-on problem solving, and day-to-day technical guidance. Contribute to hiring, onboarding, and raising the overall quality bar of the team.
- Communicate clearly with stakeholders about technical constraints, trade-offs, dependencies, and execution plans.

You’ll Thrive Here If You :

- Have 5+ years of professional game development experience , with demonstrated technical leadership through project ownership, mentorship, and setting engineering standards.
- Have strong professional experience with C++ and Unreal Engine , including gameplay architecture, runtime systems, debugging, and optimization.
- Enjoy being jack-of-all-trades, getting your hands dirty and solving problems across all engineering spectrum including engine, gameplay, build systems, automation.
- Have deep experience building and maintaining gameplay systems that are responsive, scalable, and designer-friendly.
- Are comfortable working across systems boundaries, collaborating with multiple disciplines, and balancing short-term production needs with long-term technical health.
- Bring a strong ownership mindset, practical decision-making, and a focus on helping teams move effectively under production constraints.

Bonus XP :

- Experience with the modern Unreal Engine 5 systems, like Metahuman, Nanite, Lumen.
- Shipped at least one title on PS5, Xbox Series Xu007CS, and or Nintendo hardware, especially in platform, performance, or engine roles.
- Familiarity with Perforce, Jenkins, Unreal Build System, Unreal Gauntlet.
- Experience with Linux.

📌 Lead Software Engineer, Original Game (Unreal Engine 5) (Vancouver)
🏢 Blackbird Interactive
📍 Vancouver